Weekend Forecast: Rasputitsa
We’re about a week away from Rasputitsa, one of our favorite events of the calendar. Why do we love it? Read about it here, here and here:
Rasputitsa is about so much more than a few hours of Vermont hills, dirt roads and, for this year at least, very deep snow. It is a memorable weekend away from the chaos of New York City with friends and teammates. It is a good excuse to drink some very good Vermont beers. It is a unique cross section of the cycling community coming together in a manner that is completely distinct to traditional USAC racing. It is something special.
Here is additional photographic evidence of why we love Rasputitsa:
The Course
We created our own cue-sheet for this year’s course—and are passing our knowledge to you. Look out for Cyberia—a Class IV road. See you in Vermont.
The winter in Vermont was one to remember—one of the snowiest in the past decade. In fact, this year’s snowfall has been so significant that the organizers announced earlier this month the need to postpone their final decision about the route until April 22. Further evidence of soft roads has popped up on Facebook and Instagram, leading TBD to ask the all important question: “What tires are we running?”
An informal poll of TBD racers yieled the following results:
Panaracer GravelKing SK
Vittoria Terreno Dry 31
WTB Riddler 37
Compass Bon Jon Pass 35
WTB CrossBoss
Want a Comparison of all recent Rasputisa courses?
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Who’s Registered?
There are some big names attending this year’s edition. Former CX world champion Lars Boom will be on-hand to take North American dirt samples and compare to that of Belgium soil. Canadian national CX champ Maghalie Rochette will be there. Colin Strickland—Red Hook Crit-destroyer-turned gravel king—will be on-hand according to BikeReg. (Which brings to mind an interesting “State of the Sport” question considering he’s showing up to Rasputitsa but not the country’s largest fixed-gear event, Mission Crit, this weekend).
Is it a ride or a race?
We debated this question last year. The majority of the team decided it was more fun to stop for whiskey shots on the roadside than try to compete with Anthony Clark and Kevin Bouchard-Hall. The good news is that the organizers this year have arranged starting pens so that the racers don’t get clogged behind the riders in the melee at the start. Here are the pens that all attendees can self-select into.
The Masochists: For those that love to suffer Fur Bibs ONLY – If you did not receive a fur bib please refrain from lining up in this corral.
The Mullet Posse: Business in the front, party in the back -Estimated 2-3 Hour Finish Time
The Ehhh Crowd: Not sure where to line up? Ehh here is good. Estimated 3-4 Hour Finish Time
The Feedzone Cartel: In this for each and every feed zone. Estimated 4-5 Hour Finish Time
The Broomwagon Grand Marshalls: No definition necessary. Estimated 5+ Hour Finish Time
Riders must line up in corrals by 8:45 am.
The Stats on Rasputitsa
Registration has gone through the roof in recent years, and Rasputitsa is one of the most popular gravel events on the east coast. According to BikeReg, more than 1452 peopler registered for this year’s edition, up from 1,315 last year. Last year Rasputitsa registrations reached 1,315 riders—this is 2x the entire racing membership of CRCA)—and women’s ridership has increased 141% since 2016.
Prior Rasputitsa ride reports on the TBD Journal that are worth reading:
Recapping our annual pilgrimage to the Rasputitsa Gravel Grinder in Vermont